Timbers U-23s to host first U.S. Open Cup match May 15 at JELD-WEN Field

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers U-23s will play host to a U.S. Adult Soccer Association (USASA) club in their first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday, May 15, at JELD-WEN Field at 7:30 p.m., it was announced today as U.S. Soccer unveiled first-round and second-round matchups for the 2012 U.S. Open Cup tournament. The team’s opponent will be announced at a later date.

Tickets for the Timbers U-23s’ U.S. Open Cup match are $7 and go on sale to the public Tuesday, May 8, at 10 a.m. through the JELD-WEN Field box office and Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.

The winner of the Timbers U-23s’ first-round matchup will travel to take the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League (NASL) on Tuesday, May 22, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC; kickoff is set for 4:07 p.m. (Pacific).

The Timbers U-23s are one of 16 teams from United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Development League (PDL) competing in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup tournament. The 99th edition of the U.S. Open Cup includes a 64-team field, which represents the largest in the modern era (1995 to present).

In the first round, 32 amateur sides were paired geographically, with the restriction that teams from the same qualifying pool (meaning USASA regional qualifiers, PDL and National Premier Soccer League) cannot be paired. The first-round winners face Division II or Division III clubs in the second round based on geographic proximity. Second-round winners play Division I clubs in the third round, matched on a geographic basis.

ABOUT U.S. OPEN CUP

The U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament, which has crowned a champion for 98 consecutive years beginning in 1914. Every winning team’s name is engraved on the base of the Dewar Challenge Trophy, which dates to the first year of the tournament and currently resides at the U.S. Soccer House in Chicago. The 2012 champion will earn a $100,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will collect $50,000. The top Division II, Division III and amateur clubs will each receive a $10,000 prize. For more information, visit www.ussoccer.com.